January 1736 (2)
= Le Mercure Gallant - January 1736 = Weather this month *Seasonal freezing. *Caspian Sea calm. *Heavy rainfall in India. *Rain, typhoons and flooding in the Pacific. *Storms in the North Atlantic. Events Of Importte Pertaining To Recent Matters Munster *Prince Kurt von Weiss has warned that the Kaiser informed the Imperial Diet that he would unify the Holy Roman Empire either by peaceful means, or if this fails by force. Prince Weiss is taking this as a threat, and has put his army on alert! Thon Buri *China’s military presence ashore at Thon Buri increased significantly this month with the disembarkation of the Jalans of Heaven; four battalions of foot, four squadrons of cavalry and four batteries of artillery. They are motley assortment, armed with a mixture of modern muskets of various sorts, spears, bows, cannon and rockets, and are made up of ethnic Chinese, Tartars and Annamese! Hyderabad *Hanson’s Horse Regiment appears to have ridden away from Hyderabad during a heavy downpour which has partially obstructed the view. Hanover *Fearing war is about to break out across Germany, Chancellor Christian of Hanover- Brunswick has recalled all Hanoverian mercenary regiments serving with the Imperial Army. Kassel *Prince von Schultz, the ruler of Hesse-Kassel has pointedly stated that if the Prussian field army attacks any member state of the Holy Roman Empire then the Kaiser will be in contravention of Clause 1 of the Imperial Treaty. Tunis *On the understanding that the Bey of Syria has bent the knee to Allah and accepted Sultan Suleyman as his earthly lord, Bey Halif of Tunis has invited his neighbour to send a new ambassador to Tunis to reopen the Syrian embassy. Kowloon *Lord Fong, the Shield of the Chinese Empire told Ambassador Murad Baksh, the representative of the Dread Moghul, to approach him. The emissary did so gladly, although some watching were fearful for him since being called before the great Fong was not always a pleasant experience for the one called... Fong spoke. “I read in the barbarian newspaper of the dishonourable way the Stadtholder, a man truly without honour, treats your ambassador. Far worse than the way he complained that I treated his ambassador. Your lord is our true friend, he has our support, now and always.” Baksh smiled broadly and bowed, and everyone else relaxed. This having been done, it was arranged for the silver dragons recently given by the Spaniards to stand at the doors of the Palace of Fong in order to keep away evil spirits. Some at this court are taking this to mean the Dutch... Trier *Having left Berlin, Prince Hans von Pfalz returned to his own court where he vocally backed the Kaiser attempts to bring more unity to ‘this dysfunctional empire’. Phillipsburg *Graf von Lochmann, the prince of the Palatine, has announced that Prussian troops are welcome to use his small territory as a base of operations, should the Kaiser so desire to do so. Florence *Duke Luca of Tuscany has warned his younger brother Giacomo Medici to moderate his tongue, threatening that if he does not he will be cut out of the Medici Succession for good, along with all his direct descendents. Cologne *Prince St. Maurice of Liege-Cologne has asked the Kaiser to clarify what he meant when he told the Imperial Diet that he would unify the Empire and perhaps use the Prussian Army to this end? He then leaned forward as he was told that the Kaiser had said that if the princes did not merge their treasuries with that of the Imperial Government in Berlin, then the Prussians would invade, and that all trade had to be controlled by the Imperial Diet, and all armies formed into a single Imperial German Army. He looked shocked and for a moment was at a loss for words. Finally he was advised that any prince refusing to do so would be seen as a rebel against their overlord the Kaiser and the Imperial Army would be sent in to enforce Imperial rule. “Then it is war,” he groaned, and called for his generals! Mexico *Several mines in the interior of Mexico have stopped work since their miners have downed tools and begun a revolt against Spanish rule! This rebellion does not appear to have any support amongst the local nobility, who are frankly appalled and calling for help from the mother country! Algiers *Yasin El-Tuhamy has confirmed to Dey Mustapha of Algiers that he may marry Princess Bastet, and her family have agreed as well so the betrothal has been confirmed. The Dey announced that the wedding will take place in Algiers on 14th March 1736, if Allah wills, and that all Ottoman nobles of integrity and goodwill were invited to attend. London *Sir Courtney Thatcher, His Majesty’s Minister for Foreign Affairs announced that the British embassy in the United Dutch Provinces will be acting on behalf of the Great Moghul and Lord Fong’s government. "The manner in which the Dutch Government shut down the embassy of the Moghul last month is most offensive and if the same is done to British officials the devil will have to be paid. All citizens of the aforemen tioned powers are to consider the British embassy as theirs and should feel free to call upon the diplomats there." *King George has hosted a ball at Buckingham Palace, chiefly to honour the diplomatic corps based in London. His Highness lamented the fact that Ambassador Malik of the Moghul empire was unable to attend since he appears to still be languishing in Dutch custody. His Majesty set this aside however, and grandly announced to applause that taxation levied against commoners is hereby reduced from 7% to a paltry 2%! Then in an increase in largesse toward his loyal subjects - this time those in the colonies - the King also announced the opening of hospitals in Kingston, Yorktown, Stamford, Boston and New York. *Thousands of people have gathered in London responding to a call for volunteers to resettle in North America. Canton *A column of Chinese warriors who set out from Canton ended up marching into heavy rain and then a typhoon, and as if that were not bad enough they found all the routes they tried leading to their destination of Ngchun to be flooded! Giving up the attempt to get there, they returned to Canton in a very bedraggled state. Agra *In a strongly worded statement, Chancellor Bairan Khan of the Moghul Empire expressed his disbelief at Dutch actions ‘which violate all diplomatic protocols’. The immediate release of Ambassador Malik is being demanded in order that he and his staff may take up their appointment to the Court of St. James in London. Tehran *Shah Adi Sudhar of Persia is under the impression that the civil war over who should be proclaimed sole sultan of the Ottoman Empire is now finished with, and as that is surely the case he is wondering out loud why there is still fighting going on in Anatolia? He urges the rebels to surrender rather than fight Suleyman, since there is no longer anything to be gained, but if they must continue their antagonism he invites them to seek sanctuary in Persia, not in order to fight Suleyman, but to avoid his rule if they are so strongly led to do so. Athens *Ottoman Treasurer Constantine de Krete has stressed the restoration of political stability in the heartlands as being a major factor which should now aid the economic recovery of the Ottoman Empire. He also pointed to the enlightened rule of Sultan Suleyman as being another positive factor, and expressed his intention to expand Suleyman’s tax base and thus civic control over as much of Anatolia as possible. Messina *Stepping off a ship at Messina, King Ferdinand of Spain commented that he was sure the Duke of Tuscany, whom he had the pleasure of assisting as a loyal vassal and hopefully as a friend, will be able to make his brother see sense and stop acting in such an ungentlemanly way. He added that should the Duke require ‘my assistance in any other matter he is just to ask.’ His Most Catholic Majesty has come to his domain of Sicily to offer his support and to bring succour to the Sicilian islanders following the recent disaster brought on by the explosion of Mount Etna. Sailors from Admiral Joseph la Boqueria’s fleet were sent out to hand out supplies to his suffering subjects, while the King in person spent some time helping to dig out survivors in a neighbouring village and directed some of the clear-up work. He also pledged 15,000,000 Escudos to aid with helping such matters as reconstruction work which according to reports reaching the King the sum already provided is sufficient to make good the damage done. Inquisitor-General Gaspar de Quiroga and his staff had also arrived by sea to lend a hand, and they have been impressed by the care and kindness of King Ferdinand and have said as much, along with others applauding His Majesty’s Catholic piety. His Majesty’s head was not addled by such praise, and he has warned that if anyone is found charging inflated prices to take advantage of the disaster he shall personally have them called in to face him and explain themselves! *King Ferdinand took time to announce that he is lowering taxes on commoners from 11% to 5% for the next two years, and that foreigners will now pay a flat rate of 10% until further notice. Previously the standard tariff stood at 15%, but there were numerous exceptions already allowing for a 10% rate to be levied. Clerks however are assuming that the home country ban on English trade is still in force, and that all are banned in the colonies except for Rumelian, Russian, and Prussian merchants in the Americas. Finally he ordered the dispersal of considerable levels of poor relief via the Church in the major cities of Spain, and let it be known that this money is to go to the poor and anyone found withholding or diverting it will be hung or sent to the colonies as slave labour! Moscow *Russia’s Minister of Trade Feodore Belkov has removed all exemptions and reduced tariffs enjoyed by merchants dealing with Russia, ensuring that they all now pay the standard tariff of 5%. Versailles *In a deeply unpopular move the French Crown has bought back all civic offices from the nobility, ending the holding of such offices by purchase and also putting paid to the Paulette pensions. People being Much Admired by the Best in Société *Russia *France *Moghul India *Prussia *Hungary *Kwantung China *Blackbeard *Ottoman Rumelia *England *Spain *United Provinces *Sweden Shipping Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Movements *Six Rumelian spice carrier trade ships have gone missing in the Indian Ocean. *Admiral van Apeldoorn's Dutch fleet of six ship of the line, five cruisers and two ketches has appeared off the Moghul stronghold of Masulipatam and commenced a naval blockade. *The Dutch Navy has begun to blockade the Strait of Malacca. Lloyds Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Losses from Causes Unknowne or Knowne *None. Ambassadorial Appointments *None. Trade Missions Opened *None. Automatically parsed by LGDRParser v1.0 Category:Game 2